OSU offseason questions: Cornerbacks

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Almost as soon as it arrived, spring camp at Ohio State wrapped up. Time isn’t likely to fly by quite as quickly in the offseason with the summer months sure to drag by until the 2014 campaign finally opens in August. The Buckeyes have plenty of work to do to get ready for their debut against Navy on Aug. 30, and to help pass the time, we’re looking at some of the most pressing positional questions they’ll have to answer to make another run at a championship. Who will line up opposite Doran Grant?

+ EnlargeJason Mowry/Icon SMIDoran Grant is set as a starter at one cornerback spot, but the other starting CB spot is still open.Bradley Roby, a first-round NFL draft pick is gone, yet there hardly seemed to be any hand-wringing about filling that hole at cornerback. But with Grant sliding seamlessly into Bradley Roby’s spot in the secondary after a season that occasionally featured him outperforming his higher-profile teammate, that still leaves a vacancy for new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash to fill as he installs his system to slow down the pass. The Buckeyes didn’t show much concern about plugging that spot during spring practice, either, though they left camp without a resolution as to which candidate is best suited for a starting job and an integral role in repairing what was a leaky pass defense a year ago.

One candidate is rising junior Armani Reeves, who has proven himself as a serviceable option at a minimum and showed flashes of being more than that with 26 tackles, eight passes defended, an interception and a forced fumble last season. And right there beside him is a redshirt freshman whose name was seemingly always on the lips of Urban Meyer in March and April, as Gareon Conley is pushing hard for first-team reps.

Since Meyer arrived, the Buckeyes have had perhaps more success than any team in the nation in targeting and recruiting cornerbacks, with Conley leading an influx of talent that also includes another touted redshirt freshman in Eli Apple and incoming recruits Marshon Lattimore and Damon Webb to supply even more depth in the back end. With Grant as the only cornerback on the roster with his spot solidified on the depth chart, there will be no shortage of competition when August rolls around, and the business of shoring up that pass defense becomes even more serious ahead of the opener against Navy on Aug. 30.

Leaving spring, Reeves and Conley seemed to be waging a two-man battle for a starting job, though both of them figure to be heavily involved in the nickel and dime packages regardless of how that fight to start shakes out in training camp.